Reading Program Level 3 FAQ
Who is this reading program for?
This program is for individuals wishing to excel at reading and rapidly build fluency and vocabulary.
How does it work?
A student reads guided prompts while an administrator (eg. parent, teacher, etc.) checks the student for accuracy and marks words on the page that the student has read incorrectly. An algorithm detects which words need to be reviewed and chooses new and interesting sentences to administer the review.
Can this program be used for adults?
Yes! There is nothing about the curriculum that makes it unique to children.
Can this program be used for non native English speakers?
Yes! As long as the student has a rudimentary understanding of English speech and reading, they can use this program to increase their vocabulary and decoding the same as a native speaker. An added step may be to attempt to translate each prompt into one's native language and mark as incorrect if the meaning is not known.
Can this program be used without an administrator?
For young children or individuals not fluent in the English language, the problem with not having a skilled administrator is that the student may not realize that they have said a word wrong and no one will be able to explain words for which the student does not know the meaning. It would be possible for a highly motivated individual to use the program alone, in conjunction with a dictionary, preferably with pronunciation help available (as is the case with most online dictionaries). For individuals who have a strong grasp of the English language, but struggle specifically with decoding (such as in the case of dyslexia), the problems with self administration are nullified as the student would instantly know if they missed or struggled with a word.
Can the student read the books without ever doing guided prompts?
Technically yes, but the point of the program is to review and track words that the student struggles with using the guided prompts. If the student never used the guided prompts, then there is no benefit to reading and marking them online over reading in paper form.
Where do the guided prompts come from?
Mostly from Twitter, the web, Project GutenBerg, Wikipedia, some were written by me and a few are presented under Fair Use from copyrighted contemporary fiction and non fiction books.
Are new prompts ever added?
Yes, and seeing people using the site is the best way to encourage me to add more. Prompts are selected with the highest mathematical benefit to the active users after going through human review.
Will the program always be free?
Level 3 reading in its current form will always be free. Additional premium features may be added, but they will not replace the existing system.
I read something offline, can I enter it into the site to update my reading scores?
This feature will be available in a future version and may be a "premium" feature.
I have multiple students/children, can they share an account?
No! Sharing an account is bad. Scores are maintained and optimized for a single user. If two people share an account then word levels will accurately reflect NEITHER of their reading abilities greatly hindering progress. However, a feature is being developed to allow a parent or teacher to easily make sub/child accounts without requiring a unique email address.
Is there a demo mode, so I can play with it, without affecting user scores?
Yes! Click on Demo!
My student/child would like a printed sheet, is this possible?
Yes! Click on Worksheets!
I found an issue with a prompt!
I'm adding a flagging system so users can notify me of potential problems with prompts, and block ones they do not wish to read for whatever reason. Until this is added, there is not much that can be done. A comprehensive review of all prompts is currently underway.
What is Student Score?
Student Score is a measure of the proficiency of the student, as measured by the program. It will go up as the student reads prompts and gains mastery over new words. It takes into account how long words will be in date rather than just how many words are in date. The Words in Date metric will show a count of words in date, but will not reflect if the in date status of a word is about to expire in a few seconds, for example.
Why do student score and words in date drop over time?
They drop for the same reason. A word is in date if it is not yet time to review it. As time goes on, more words need to be reviewed. No matter how skilled a student is with a word, they will eventually need to review it. High level words can remain in date for many years, a time period which extends and starts over every time the word is reviewed. Trouble words need to be reviewed more often and can drop off in the worst case scenarios, in a matter of seconds.
Why do words which were never read incorrectly need to be reviewed?
It is possible that a student might know a word before they begin the program and literally never need to review it. However, my program has no way of distinguishing this from a word which was incorrectly marked as being correct because of an administration error, or guessed it from context or had reviewed it recently outside the program but not committed it to long term memory. However, this is not a problem, as words which the student truly knows should be invisible while reading since the student won't struggle to read them. Words read correctly 3 times in a row, on time, will pass 2 years before it is time to review. The purpose of the program is to make the student proficient with reading while exposing them to new words, not to hide words which they already know. True reading proficiency is a result of knowing all or most the words in a passage and will be harder to master if prompts consistently have too high a percentage of unfamiliar words.
Who is this reading program for?
This program is for individuals wishing to excel at reading and rapidly build fluency and vocabulary.
How does it work?
A student reads guided prompts while an administrator (eg. parent, teacher, etc.) checks the student for accuracy and marks words on the page that the student has read incorrectly. An algorithm detects which words need to be reviewed and chooses new and interesting sentences to administer the review.
Can this program be used for adults?
Yes! There is nothing about the curriculum that makes it unique to children.
Can this program be used for non native English speakers?
Yes! As long as the student has a rudimentary understanding of English speech and reading, they can use this program to increase their vocabulary and decoding the same as a native speaker. An added step may be to attempt to translate each prompt into one's native language and mark as incorrect if the meaning is not known.
Can this program be used without an administrator?
For young children or individuals not fluent in the English language, the problem with not having a skilled administrator is that the student may not realize that they have said a word wrong and no one will be able to explain words for which the student does not know the meaning. It would be possible for a highly motivated individual to use the program alone, in conjunction with a dictionary, preferably with pronunciation help available (as is the case with most online dictionaries). For individuals who have a strong grasp of the English language, but struggle specifically with decoding (such as in the case of dyslexia), the problems with self administration are nullified as the student would instantly know if they missed or struggled with a word.
Can the student read the books without ever doing guided prompts?
Technically yes, but the point of the program is to review and track words that the student struggles with using the guided prompts. If the student never used the guided prompts, then there is no benefit to reading and marking them online over reading in paper form.
Where do the guided prompts come from?
Mostly from Twitter, the web, Project GutenBerg, Wikipedia, some were written by me and a few are presented under Fair Use from copyrighted contemporary fiction and non fiction books.
Are new prompts ever added?
Yes, and seeing people using the site is the best way to encourage me to add more. Prompts are selected with the highest mathematical benefit to the active users after going through human review.
Will the program always be free?
Level 3 reading in its current form will always be free. Additional premium features may be added, but they will not replace the existing system.
I read something offline, can I enter it into the site to update my reading scores?
This feature will be available in a future version and may be a "premium" feature.
I have multiple students/children, can they share an account?
No! Sharing an account is bad. Scores are maintained and optimized for a single user. If two people share an account then word levels will accurately reflect NEITHER of their reading abilities greatly hindering progress. However, a feature is being developed to allow a parent or teacher to easily make sub/child accounts without requiring a unique email address.
Is there a demo mode, so I can play with it, without affecting user scores?
Yes! Click on Demo!
My student/child would like a printed sheet, is this possible?
Yes! Click on Worksheets!
I found an issue with a prompt!
I'm adding a flagging system so users can notify me of potential problems with prompts, and block ones they do not wish to read for whatever reason. Until this is added, there is not much that can be done. A comprehensive review of all prompts is currently underway.
What is Student Score?
Student Score is a measure of the proficiency of the student, as measured by the program. It will go up as the student reads prompts and gains mastery over new words. It takes into account how long words will be in date rather than just how many words are in date. The Words in Date metric will show a count of words in date, but will not reflect if the in date status of a word is about to expire in a few seconds, for example.
Why do student score and words in date drop over time?
They drop for the same reason. A word is in date if it is not yet time to review it. As time goes on, more words need to be reviewed. No matter how skilled a student is with a word, they will eventually need to review it. High level words can remain in date for many years, a time period which extends and starts over every time the word is reviewed. Trouble words need to be reviewed more often and can drop off in the worst case scenarios, in a matter of seconds.
Why do words which were never read incorrectly need to be reviewed?
It is possible that a student might know a word before they begin the program and literally never need to review it. However, my program has no way of distinguishing this from a word which was incorrectly marked as being correct because of an administration error, or guessed it from context or had reviewed it recently outside the program but not committed it to long term memory. However, this is not a problem, as words which the student truly knows should be invisible while reading since the student won't struggle to read them. Words read correctly 3 times in a row, on time, will pass 2 years before it is time to review. The purpose of the program is to make the student proficient with reading while exposing them to new words, not to hide words which they already know. True reading proficiency is a result of knowing all or most the words in a passage and will be harder to master if prompts consistently have too high a percentage of unfamiliar words.